Behind the Beautiful Forevers

by

Katherine Boo

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Behind the Beautiful Forevers makes teaching easy.

Rahul Waghekar Character Analysis

Asha’s son, a cheerful, popular boy who dreams of working in a fancy hotel. Rahul is Mirchi’s best friend, even though Rahul is Hindu and belongs to the Shiv Sena party that hates low-caste Northern Indian Muslims like Mirchi’s family. Rahul’s openness and friendly demeanor is a sign of the changing India, which looks more towards economic opportunity and less towards old concerns of caste and religion.
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Rahul Waghekar Character Timeline in Behind the Beautiful Forevers

The timeline below shows where the character Rahul Waghekar appears in Behind the Beautiful Forevers. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: Annawadi
Society, Competition, and Social Division Theme Icon
Opportunity, Corruption, and Inequality Theme Icon
...his bottles. In the afternoon, Mirchi gets home from school and waits for his friend Rahul to tell him about his day working for the Intercontinental Hotel. Rahul appears wearing fine... (full context)
Society, Competition, and Social Division Theme Icon
Opportunity, Corruption, and Inequality Theme Icon
Abdul avoids the other boys, but he too listens in to Rahul’s tales of the foreign women at the party and their wild antics. Abdul fondly remembers... (full context)
Society, Competition, and Social Division Theme Icon
Opportunity, Corruption, and Inequality Theme Icon
Rahul gets his entrepreneur’s spirit from his mother, Asha. Asha works for the political party Shiv... (full context)
Opportunity, Corruption, and Inequality Theme Icon
The Local vs. The Global Theme Icon
As dusk falls, Rahul struggles to get a kite out a tree so that he can resell it for... (full context)
Chapter 2: Asha
Opportunity, Corruption, and Inequality Theme Icon
Asha Waghekar, Rahul’s mother, is very happy this winter because the current slumlord of Annawadi (the man who... (full context)
Opportunity, Corruption, and Inequality Theme Icon
The Local vs. The Global Theme Icon
Manju finishes cooking and Rahul comes home from chatting in the street. Asha scolds Rahul for wearing his pants low... (full context)
Chapter 4: Manju
Society, Competition, and Social Division Theme Icon
Opportunity, Corruption, and Inequality Theme Icon
...to distance herself from her mother. The afternoon after Subhash’s failed rally, she complains to Rahul about all the work she has to do, but Rahul is too distracted by his... (full context)
Chapter 9: Marquee Effect
Opportunity, Corruption, and Inequality Theme Icon
In July, Asha, Mahadeo, Rahul, and Manju visit the small village where they lived before moving to Mumbai. Asha feels... (full context)